I'm gonna go with Warp Graphics actually. One of the first comics I was hooked on was Elfquest. It is NOT very well known, but it is a FANTASTIC story with a universe SO well developed and full of great characters that its a complete shame that it doesnt have more attention than it does.

The story actually goes somewhere its just not another issue of spider-man beating up dock ock. The characters are great, and their relationships are real and interesting.The universe is brilliant and beautiful.

The reason its not been too big, is probably because of occasional frivolous sexual content, which is not at all exploitative, but simply a great part of the lore.

Superheroes are awesome, but Elfquest has tackled so many different subjects in a mature and interesting fashion...its just superb. Family, sex, loss, longing, the passage of time...aaaaaaaah its soooo good.

If anyone has not read this fantastic fantasy epic I wholeheartedly recommend it. Its even available for free these days on their website. GO READ!

I think the continuity is what pushes Marvel to the top for me. DC stories are really just stand-alone. I prefer to get invested into the universe as a whole and not just the individual stories. That's what's best about making the characters more complex and having interesting personal histories. I feel much more connected to the Marvel world as a whole.

I remember Elfquest. There was a copy of one of the compilations in my hometown library. I read the f**k out of that, but didn't understand much since I was young, stupid, and kinda sheltered.

Thanks for reminding me of that. I'll see if I can get my hands on some copies.

OT:As to the Great Debate... it's a hard call for me as I'm not as steeped in the lore of either, so I'll go for a simple anecdotal call.

Marvel. Because HULK. Why?

Planet Hulk.

Superman may be able to tow a planet (with help from GL), but Hulk kept one from exploding with his bare hands by pulling tectonic plates around. After that the story made me shed manly tears for what happened to him.

It's a really tough call, because they both have aspects that I adore. However, I have to give it to Marvel. It just seems like more of a cohesive unit. Especially now that Marvel itself has a movie studio, whereas DC is still largely tied to the whim of Warner Bros.

In the '90's I was all about Marvel. Lately, I'm slightly more in the DC camp. I mean, they have Animal Man and Ambush Bug! Animal Man is one of the most unique titles in comics. Ambush Bug is just a riot whenever he shows up.

And have you guys read 52? Not The New 52, but the series from '06? Absolutely phenomenal. And most of the major players are out of the picture for the entire run, so if you ever had an issue with DC characters being too godlike, that is not applicable to this story. And I think it helped cement Black Adam as one of my favorite villains.

Sorry, but when you have to pay 50 bucks for a comic that isn't even 5 years old at this point, just to understand the story or to "collect" them, it is fucking sad.

Thankfully, Manga isn't expensive. I can buy 27 VOLUMES for less than 200 bucks. It costs 30 to 40 bucks to buy a single volume for most Comics, while I can spend 10 to 15 for a single volume. Cheaper if I buy in bulk.

I would love to read comics, if they weren't so fucking expensive for not reason other than people are stupid and putting way to much worth in a couple coloured pages of dudes/gals punching each other.

Sorry, but when you have to pay 50 bucks for a comic that isn't even 5 years old at this point, just to understand the story or to "collect" them, it is fucking sad.

Thankfully, Manga isn't expensive. I can buy 27 VOLUMES for less than 200 bucks. It costs 30 to 40 bucks to buy a single volume for most Comics, while I can spend 10 to 15 for a single volume. Cheaper if I buy in bulk.

I would love to read comics, if they weren't so fucking expensive for not reason other than people are stupid and putting way to much worth in a couple coloured pages of dudes/gals punching each other.

What comic that's less than 5 years old costs 50 bucks? If you're not a collector and just want to read the story, go for trade paperbacks. The pricing is pretty comparable to manga collections. 10-15 bucks is pretty much the standard for 1 volume. The only collections I've seen cost around 30 were hardcover deluxe editions.

I have to go with Marvel. As a kid, I always found that the Marvel Universe (or maybe the characters) was more inviting to new readers. You can feel free to disagree with this. I'm basing this opinion on recollections from when I was 13 years old. Plus, at a young age, with limited spending, I could only afford to invest myself in one comic book and that was X-Men.

Sorry, but when you have to pay 50 bucks for a comic that isn't even 5 years old at this point, just to understand the story or to "collect" them, it is fucking sad.

Thankfully, Manga isn't expensive. I can buy 27 VOLUMES for less than 200 bucks. It costs 30 to 40 bucks to buy a single volume for most Comics, while I can spend 10 to 15 for a single volume. Cheaper if I buy in bulk.

I would love to read comics, if they weren't so fucking expensive for not reason other than people are stupid and putting way to much worth in a couple coloured pages of dudes/gals punching each other.

The events from Avengers Disassembled to Siege including the X-Men specific ones (Manifest Destiny, Second Coming, Schism, etc) and the Young Avengers and Runaways series cost me a somewhere between 1-1.5K, nearly 200 TPBs.

OT:Marvel, like Chris said the overarcing story just ties in so well with everything going on around it, and to Kyle's point about Batman dying and Dick Grayson taking over, when Captain America died, Bucky Barnes took over and we got to see what a more hardened Cap would be like. Marvel also has great stories like The Runaway. The final point for Marvel in my book is X-Force, the mutant black-ops hit squad.

As far as the "big two" are concerned, I have a deep love for Marvel. You guys hit the nail on the head when you said that they are flawed, and that's what makes them so great. These ARE modern gods, and they squander and screw-up just like everyone else; it's "real", and it's refreshing to see.

Between the big 2; while I do greatly appreciate Marvel's characters and stories and can respect how in many ways they are more fleshed out than DC's, growing up on the Batman Animated Series as well as Justice League has conditioned me to enjoy their stories more.

I really prefer Marvel's offshoot stuff (Runaways is a perfect example, as were the Noir alternative universe comics), and the main core storyline is really interesting, but I've sort of shifted over to their Ultimates universe for a consistent story, as it just seems to have a smaller, more managed and yet risky scale to it than the main thing.

DC... I like DC, I really do. It's got a far better track record with animated films and TV than Marvel has had (and yet somehow YJ is cancelled while Ultimate Spider-Man carries on...) but it just seems so out-there at times.

My one issue with the video -- you can't argue that Marvel "never changes" when you could say the -exact- same thing about DC. It's because of DC always going back to the status-quo that my dad stopped reading their stuff. Both are known for doing this but DC in particular just can't come to grasp with a single continuity, instead constantly changing it's stuff and making new settings and then reverting and... I honestly lost track after a certain point. And when they actually did try some over-arching stuff, like Paralax, people hated it. I have to imagine there were some positively received ones but... it just seems so damn confusing. And why does every universe in DC have to connect with every other one? They even did this in Injustice: Gods Among Us even though everything they said beforehand was that "yeah, it's just this universe, and those who die will die". Instead, what we got was a clean up crew of the regular heroes, ripping off a JLA Animated series episode from way back when.

Hm, I think I'll make this easier on myself and just go by how I liked their big events. (note I stopped reading comics a while ago, although as far as I know the only big event I missed from both companies is the Age of Ultron thing.)

Off the top of my head Marvel had Dark Reign, World War Hulk, Civil War, House of M, Siege, Fear Itself, Avengers vs. X-Men, Spider-Island, etc etc etc. Most(but not all) of these were pretty good, and I had fun reading them.

DC had Infinite Crisis, 52, 1 year later, Amazons Attack, Countdown to final crisis, Final Crisis, Blackest Night, Brightest Day, Flashpoint, etc etc etc. Most of these on the other hand were terrible to meh, with Blackest Night imo being the only real bright spot.(pun intended)

With the exception of Lobo, DC has struck me as this Universe stuck in an era before the 1960's. DC has tried not look like that before. But those attempts tend to end in failure. Even at their best to try to provoke change they just end up with pre 1960's characters set in the present.

The only time I felt that way with Marvel has been with The Fantastic Four.

I think that Marvel (in general) has better heroes, while DC (in general) has better villains. there's alot of arguments between each universe, but i'd say i'm more of a marvel fan, if only because of Planet Hulk (although DC has All-Star Superman, so... i could go on forever with myself).Having said that, my favourite comic book hero is Blue Beetle from DC (the 'new' one, but not the new 'new' one. Jaimie Reyes, before the 52 relaunch) one of the best series i've ever read.

I've always thought that the DC universe is held back by it's origins and that this is mostly due to history. DC basically came first, and it's characters were born in the 30's to the backdrop of the great depression. Marvel came later, and it's characters were born in the 60's to the backdrop of... well the 60's. The latter is going to lead to far more interesting characters. DC can evolve their characters in interesting ways, but they're always tied down to their origins which quite simply aren't as good.

Marvel. Why, you ask? Because everything, even the goofy crap from the 1960s, is still canon. Oh sure they might've tweaked the dialogue, but regardless, if it happened in the Marvel Comics main universe, it's still in continuity.

RandV80:I've always thought that the DC universe is held back by it's origins and that this is mostly due to history. DC basically came first, and it's characters were born in the 30's to the backdrop of the great depression. Marvel came later, and it's characters were born in the 60's to the backdrop of... well the 60's. The latter is going to lead to far more interesting characters. DC can evolve their characters in interesting ways, but they're always tied down to their origins which quite simply aren't as good.

I'm pretty certain Captain America was made during WW2 by Marvel. And I'm pretty certain that there were other Marvel characters made before the 1960. Though some of them were completely dropped or replaced; like the original Human Torch.

Sorry, but when you have to pay 50 bucks for a comic that isn't even 5 years old at this point, just to understand the story or to "collect" them, it is fucking sad.

Thankfully, Manga isn't expensive. I can buy 27 VOLUMES for less than 200 bucks. It costs 30 to 40 bucks to buy a single volume for most Comics, while I can spend 10 to 15 for a single volume. Cheaper if I buy in bulk.

I would love to read comics, if they weren't so fucking expensive for not reason other than people are stupid and putting way to much worth in a couple coloured pages of dudes/gals punching each other.

What comic that's less than 5 years old costs 50 bucks? If you're not a collector and just want to read the story, go for trade paperbacks. The pricing is pretty comparable to manga collections. 10-15 bucks is pretty much the standard for 1 volume. The only collections I've seen cost around 30 were hardcover deluxe editions.

The Deluxe Hardcover editions are the only ones they sell around here, other than the "singles", or whatever people call them. The ones that they sell for 10 bucks for a single chapter, each month. Also, the hardcover's cost around 40 to 50 around here in any store. Might just be the hell that is South dakota though. I can pick up a volume of any Manga for around 9 to 10 here as well. Again, might just be SD.

If I were to pick a third favorite though, I'd choose Astro City. Written by Kurt Busiek and artwork by Alex Ross (my favorite comic artist, very Norman Rockwell meets comics) and Brent Anderson. It's actually from Vertigo Comics and combines a lot of the best elements from both Marvel and DC to forge it's own path. Relatable heros and godlike heroes abound. I'd have to also give Invincible's view of Image Comic's universe a strong consideration here too. I must guiltily admit to not having given the Dark Horse Universe a fair shot yet. I'd like to go Hell Boy if I go that route but I really just enjoy Dark Horse's other comics that were published by them but are not necessarily housed in their universe.

But between the big two? Better? Apples to oranges. I prefer Marvel because of the more human/relatable element but darned if Batman and Red Son and all those flawed hero storylines don't also fill that need. I'll point out that the Marvel Universe also includes our own universe as part of its multi-verse, FYI, as a point of relatability.

Honestly, I don't like to think of their Universes as stable one-off things that we can easily percieve or quantify. Every series seems to view their respective universe in a different lense. Your view of the DC universe will change greatly if you follow Batman comics but not Superman comics. If you're a fan of the Xmen but not the Fantastic 4 then the Marvel Universe can be very different.

It's fairly clear that the anti-hero has capitvated our imagination. The Watchmen and Frank Millers Dark Knight Returns were the standard bearers of the move to be able to relate to our heroes and their struggles. I think Marvel does that the best and so they're my choice. But I also think that DC is catering to the anti-hero needs more and more every day. DC has most of my absolute favorite storylines. Red Son, Kingdom Come, and multiple Batman Graphic Novels. Marvel has some, but far less than I'd like.